by Lori Ryan
“There are four of them?” John asked, something scratching at the back of his mind. Why did that fact seem significant to him?
He looked at the two men, sure he hadn’t seen them before, other than the time he saw the shorter of the two in Ava’s shop. There was something familiar about them.
But why would he know four accountants? It’s not like he hired someone to do his taxes. He used one of those automated software programs.
John’s thoughts halted when the minister walked to the front of the church and began speaking. John watched as the family members cried and the victim’s sister stood and spoke about him.
He hated funerals when he was attending them in anything other than a work capacity. When it was for work, he could focus on the job, ignoring the human pain he saw in front of him in favor of working the case.
Now, he couldn’t escape the pain. Ava wanted to be there for them. Still, John heard her sniffle and looked over to see her brushing at her eyes with a tissue. He put his arm around her and pulled her to him, hating to see her cry.
It wasn’t until they were standing in front of the grave site and the coffin was being lowered into the ground that it hit John. Accountants were as far from punk looking jewelry store robbers as you could get.
Maybe, purposely so.
Chapter Twenty-Six
John slipped away to quietly text Nate and ask him to look into the location of the missing accountant. It was probably nothing more than a coincidence, but there were four of them and from what Ava said, they were desperate for money. One was missing-in-action like he’d fallen out with the others, the same way their jewelry store robbers had. And John had just watched the remaining two argue through a large portion of their friend’s funeral service.
It was a stretch, but it couldn’t hurt for Nate and Zaragoza to look into the whereabouts of the other partner in the accounting company.
When he made it back to the group milling at the burial site, Ava was just approaching the two men, who had stopped arguing but still looked like hell.
John joined her, standing with one hand on her lower back.
“How are you guys holding up?” she asked.
They mumbled replies.
Ava looked to John. “John, this is Tom and Corey. This is John.”
She didn’t offer any explanation as to who John was, and he was glad for it. He didn’t want them closing up around him. If they weren’t in custody, and he wasn’t here as an officer, he could talk to them all he wanted without any Miranda rights.
“I’m sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances,” John said, offering his hand. “Ava tells me you and another friend had an accounting business with—” he almost said the deceased, but stopped himself and substituted the victim’s name instead. “With Josh.”
The two men nodded as they shook his hand in turns.
“Where’s your other partner?” John said, making a show of looking around in mild curiosity. The victim’s mother was watching as her son’s coffin was being covered with soil, her quiet sobs shaking her shoulders. Her husband looked hopeless as he patted her back. John knew that kind of hopelessness.
“Uh, he um, wasn’t up to being here,” the one named Corey offered. Tommy only looked at his shoe as he scuffed the ground, swinging his foot back and forth.
“He’s taking it really hard?” Ava asked, her voice all concern. John hadn’t told her his wild theory. Chances were, this was nothing, and he was seeing connections that weren’t really here.
“Adam knew Josh a lot longer than us. They were friends when they were kids,” Corey said.
John almost said something about longtime friends usually wanting to pay their respects, but the parents walked up just then.
“We’re going to go back to the house so Sheila can lay down,” the man said to Tommy and Corey.
Ava and John stepped back to let them talk. John stood nearby to see what he could overhear of their conversation, but they didn’t say more before walking away. He needed to drop Ava off at her house and get to the precinct.
He hadn’t been cleared by the doctor to go to work for two more days, but he could tell the captain he was stopping by to get something out of his locker.
If he happened to swing into the war room and look over the videos from the robberies to see if the build of the men he’d just talked to matched their suspects, his captain could hardly complain about a little thing like that.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
All credit to his partner and the rest of the unit, they didn’t laugh when he told them his theory. And as soon as he checked the videos of the robberies in action, he was sure it was more than a theory. One of the robbers had a very distinctive way of clenching and unclenching his left hand all the time, like it was falling asleep and he was trying to fend off pins and needles. That movement matched what he’d seen of Corey Hamilton at the funeral earlier in the day.
Eric and Mason entered the room, mid-conversation. “Oh yeah? Was she hot?” Mason was asking.
John shook his head at his partner.
Eric raised his hands at John’s look. “What? I already told him I’m not sharing details. I don’t kiss and tell.” He grinned. “Okay, but yeah, she was hot. Just moved to town and doesn’t know anyone.”
John did a double take. “You mean you got more than her name? You almost sound like you might want to see her again.”
Eric never saw a woman more than once or twice, and it was strictly for sex, never a date. He was up front about what he could and couldn’t offer, and the women went away happy and content. In fact, John was often struck by the way women in bars could see Eric and have nothing but good feelings and happy memories where it came to Eric. It was rare to see a woman upset with him. Probably because he managed their expectations so well and never lied to get them into bed. Eric valued honesty above all else.
Eric shrugged in a we’ll see sort of way but didn’t say more as Rhys walked into the room.
“You might be right about these guys, John,” Rhys said, looking at a tablet in his hands. “No prior history on most of them, but one of the guys has a sealed juvenile record and an arrest for marijuana possession before it was legal.”
The guys in the unit all had mixed feelings about the legalization of marijuana in their state, but they all took the same approach. They didn’t make the laws. They only enforced them.
Rhys continued. “Erica is working on some specifics, but going by rough estimates, I’d say these guys fit the height and build of our perps.”
He held up the tablet to show the website of the accounting company the men had started together. There was a photo of all four of them in suits, posing in front of the office building John recognized from the Brewery retail center where Ava’s shop was.
The satisfaction John felt was short lived when Captain Scanlon entered the room. She gave him the look that she’d mastered. The one where you didn’t have to wonder what she was thinking. You knew she was thinking about ten different ways to punish you for disobeying her, and none of them were pretty.
“Captain,” he said, hoping he could talk his way out of whatever she had in mind.
“Shut it, Sevier. The only reason I’m going to let you go home and pretend you didn’t walk back into work without bringing me a doctor’s note is because Nate told me about the break in the case you provided.”
John reached in his pocket. “I have a doctor’s note.”
She shot a pointed look at the paper in his hand. “And it’s dated for today?”
“Uh,” John hedged. He wouldn’t flat out lie to his captain. He wasn’t that stupid.
She took the paper and read it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sevier. Not a minute before then.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Eric walked John out, speaking as soon as they were back in the bullpen. “I’ll get you updates when I can.”
John gave a single nod of his head. “It’s the missing guy. Haul the other two in. I saw t
hem at the funeral. They’re fighting and looked like they hadn’t slept in days. Get them in here and they’ll talk.”
John couldn’t help but clench his fist. His hand and wrist felt fine, which pissed him off to no end. The doctor had refused to sign his letter for anything earlier than Friday. John would be the last person to put his team in danger. If he thought he wasn’t capable of doing the job, he wouldn’t want to be out there hunting down this asshole with them.
The doors to the unit opened, and Gabe Calder and Delaney Harrison, called “Harry” by most of the people there, entered. John grinned despite his foul mood as all of the men and women in the room broke into applause.
“Please tell me you guys are back for good,” John said, clapping Gabe on the back and jerking his chin in greeting to Harry. “Being short-handed for two months has sucked.”
The pair had been loaned out to the Vice unit for a series of undercover sting operations targeting prostitution on the east side of the city.
Harry visibly cringed. “God, I hope so. If I ever have to wear that much makeup again …” Harry was gorgeous, but she wasn’t one for makeup and dressy clothes.
She trailed off as Gabe laughed, taking out his phone.
“I got pictures, guys.”
Harry wasn’t gentle when she relieved Gabe of his phone. “Asshole. I thought we talked about this.”
Gabe’s grin was unrepentant as she started deleting the images.
“I saved them to the cloud,” he said to the others. “I’ll show you later.”
John didn’t want to know what Harry would do to Gabe if she caught him. From the look on her face, it wouldn’t be pretty.
Captain Scanlon walked into the room, a smile crossing her face as well at the sight of her returning detectives. “Just got word from the brass. They filled the openings in Vice. You guys shouldn’t have to go back anytime soon.”
Being short two detectives over the last two months had meant all of them carrying extra cases. It would be good to move some of those off their desks.
The captain turned to John. “You waiting for an escort from the building, Sevier?”
Shit. There was an edge to her tone that told John it was well past time to go. If he couldn’t be in on the takedown of this asshole at work, he’d do the next best thing. He’d go see Ava and make sure she and Janna were safe until his team got this guy off the street.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The jewelry store was busy when the guard at the front of the shop opened the door for John. Kirsten, he remembered her name was.
Ava had said she was former military and from what John had seen, she was perfect for the store. She was good at what she did, scanning the store with an eye that told him she was aware of all that was happening inside and out, but doing it in a way that didn’t make any of the clientele feel like they were being stalked.
John had a feeling he wouldn’t be as tactful if it were his job.
It was close to five on a Thursday, but the day was unseasonably warm, and shoppers were walking the Brewery mall or sitting and enjoying the green. He guessed that was good news for any of the shops in the area.
Ava’s smile when her eyes fell on him was genuine. It kicked him in the gut to see that response. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted this to go deeper between them until their talk the other night. He just hoped like hell he didn’t screw this up. Because he was happier lately than he’d been in a very long time, even with his frustrations with his job and the case.
He winked and tilted his head toward the back, heading that way when she gave him a slight nod.
Janna had her head down at her workbench, focused on an intricate setting for a brilliant green stone. John opened the office door, adjusting the monitors of the security system before going and sitting quietly by Janna. He pulled out the snacks and water bottle he’d brought for her before opening a bottle for himself and settling in to watch the cameras.
He could tell she hadn’t noticed he was in the room yet. He could see why Ava worried about Janna. There were times when she was hyper-vigilant, and her anxiety was through the roof. Other times, she was utterly unaware of her surroundings. Anyone could sneak up on her, and she wouldn’t know it until it was much too late for her to do anything about it.
Half an hour passed before Ava came into the back room. John had watched the front room empty out and knew she was headed this way.
As soon as she came through the doorway, he tugged her onto his lap and kissed her. Was it the most professional thing to do in her place of business? No. Could he help himself? Hell no.
Janna looked up at the sounds of affection, seeming to startle at their presence. “Is it dinner time?” She smiled and waved to John as she spotted the chips and granola bar he’d set next to her.
“I was thinking I’d hang out until closing again, and we could pick up some take-out on the way home.” He turned to Ava, lowering his voice. “Maybe dinner in bed?”
Ava blushed.
“You’ll get crumbs in the bed,” Janna said.
John only grinned at her. “Worth it.”
Ava swatted at him. “You don’t have to wait here the whole night again with us. We’ll be fine if you just want to come back close to closing.”
John looked at his watch. Two hours ’til closing. “I’m good. Janna and I will work on my masterpiece again.”
He shot Janna a look when she unsuccessfully smothered a laugh.
“You said I was doing good the other day.”
She only laughed harder.
Ava headed back out to the front showroom while John reached for his water bottle.
He made the unfortunate decision to drink just as Janna spoke next. “Dad says we have to give you and Ava privacy out in her apartment, but I think if he knew you were putting crumbs in the beds, he might have a thing or two to say about that.”
John choked on the water.
Janna grinned at him, the light in her eyes telling him she was playing with him. And she was having fun doing it. He gave her a mock scowl, and she laughed harder.
For two hours, John watched the monitors, resisted the urge to text Eric every two minutes for a sit-rep on the jewelry store robbers, and let Janna laugh at his efforts to mold metal into something presentable. The sales clerk covering the floor with Ava had left a half hour earlier, and the last stragglers on the green didn’t seem to have any interest in shopping for jewelry. The store had been empty for the better part of an hour.
It was nearly closing time when he got a text message from Eric.
Eric: Picked up two of the biz partners but leader is in the wind. Claim they don’t know where he is. Trying to get these guys to flip on him on shooting Hall, but no go so far.
John typed a quick thanks and got up to stretch his legs. He could see Ava going through the motions of closing up. She had already replaced the displays in the front windows with paste jewels and was removing several of the trays from the glass cabinets. He’d seen her close up shop before. The guard stood in front of the locked front door while Ava stacked the trays of the more expensive pieces into the large safe they had beneath one of the display cabinets.
She would carry other trays into the back to secure in the safe in her office. He wondered what the total value of the store’s inventory was and decided the figure might set him on edge. It might be better he didn’t know.
Movement near the front door caught his attention. Kirsten, the guard on duty, was talking through the glass to someone. Her gestures were exaggerated, and John could see she was telling the man they were closed.
The short, balding man raised a fist and banged on the glass, shouting, despite Kirsten’s explanation that they were closed. John couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he was angry. Everything in his body language and expression said so, and John didn’t at all like that anger directed at Ava and Kirsten.
They were all anxious enough as it was with the robberies happening.
�
��Stay here, Janna,” he said, heading toward the showroom.
“Oh!” He heard Janna and smiled. She was probably looking up and realizing it was closing time.
The look on Ava’s face when he got up front told him she was frightened. He didn’t blame her. She didn’t know that this guy didn’t match the physical profile of the jewelry store robbers. She had no idea that short and paunchy wasn’t the man responsible for beating and killing other shop owners.
John murmured to Ava as he entered. “Why don’t you go in the back with Janna?” He didn’t think Janna had even heard the commotion up front, she’d been so absorbed in her work, but still. If she did realize something was going on, it would help to have Ava back there with her.
He crossed to the front of the store where Kirsten had taken up a protective stance in front of the glass door. John pulled his badge out of his pocket, flipped the leather case and held it against the glass.
“Beat it! Now.” The command was more growl that words.
Short and stocky went pale, but turned and walked away.
John watched till the man was across the green, then turned to Kirsten, opening his mouth to speak, but a scream stopped him in his tracks.
Ava’s scream.
The sound of it turned the blood in John’s veins to ice. He’d heard a lot of screams in his lifetime. Pain, fear, agony, mourning. They all had a different sound to them.
Ava’s was terror.
“Call for backup,” John said as he bolted for the back, drawing his weapon. He was counting on Kirsten to follow that order, because there was no way in hell he was stopping to do it. Every bone in his body screamed at him to get to Ava. To make her safe.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ava cried out for John as he ran in the back, but her scream broke off. As he came around the corner, he saw a tall man in a mask he recognized from watching videos of it all week. The man smashed his fist into Janna’s face, sending Ava’s sister flying.